Double-decker buses crash in Times square; 14 hurt

NEW YORK (AP) — A crash involving two double-decker tour buses injured 14 people and left Times Square blood-spattered on Tuesday afternoon.

Tourist Cara McCaskill, of Winnipeg, Canada, saw the scene of the accident moments after it happened as she walked out of her hotel.

“I saw fire trucks trying to get through all the crazy traffic,” the 16-year-old said. “And I saw ambulances and blood on the ground.”

None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening, fire department officials said.

The accident happened at 47th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, an area teeming with tourists near the TKTS discount Broadway ticket booth. A stretch of Seventh Avenue was shut down for hours.

Witnesses said a Gray Line tour bus rolled into the area at a high speed.

Fire department spokesman Jim Long said the bus then crashed into the other bus. A yellow traffic light toppled, its metal pole lying on a pedestrian strip. Long declined to give other details pending an investigation.

Fire Deputy Chief Roger Sakowich said, “We are very, very fortunate there weren’t many more injuries. The size of that light pole with the street light on it could have done a lot more damage. We’re very lucky.”

An Irish tourist, Rose Cantillon, was nearby but wasn’t injured.

“I was sitting on a bench, and I turned around and heard screaming, and I just ran,” she said.

Telephone calls seeking comment from Gray Line and the other tour bus company, CitySights, weren’t immediately returned Tuesday.

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